1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to use of a personal computer to run a digital copying machine for copying, labeling and optionally destroying CDs and DVD's from files in the personal computer or on a disk in the personal computer using a USB 2.0 connector between the personal computer and the disk copying machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is common to have personal computers with a CD or DVD reader and a separate CD or DVD writer such that copies of the master CD or DVD can be made in the personal computer. The personal computer is efficient for making one or two copies of a master CD or DVD, however it is not suitable for making large numbers of copies and does not have an automatic feeder for the blank disks and an automatic stacker for the copied disks. Further the writers in a PC for CD's and DVD's generally do not have a printer for printing on the surface of the disks.
For making large numbers of copies of master disks stand alone CD and DVD copy machines are used. These machines use a master disk in a read drive to be copied and a plurality of write disk drives to make copies of the master disk. The CD or DVD copy machine may automatically load a disk into the write disk drives for making copies of the master and then automatically remove the copy and place it in a stack of copied disks. The CD or DVD copy machine may include a printer for printing on the copied disks to show what the content of the disk is. A PC may be used to read the master disk and transfer the data to the writers in the disk copying machine.
In the past the computer which contained the disk reader or the information to be transferred to the CD or DVD digital copying machine had to have special cabling and the digital copying machine needed special software and cards to run the digital copying machine. These special connections and cards increase the cost of the disk copying machines.
Making copies of disks one at a time in a personal computer is labor intensive and time consuming for making large numbers of copies.
Making copies of disks in currently available digital copying machines requires expensive specialized equipment for copying a master disk and is geared for large numbers of copies.
It is desirable to have a disk copying machine such that a personal computer can run the disk copying machine and for selecting portions of data stored on a hard drive or in memory in the computer or on portions of a disk, to make copies of the data without having to copy a master disk. It is further desired to be able to copy a master disk to one or more writer drives without special cabling or software cards in the digital copying machine. It is also desirable to use a standard USB 2.0 port and cable to connect a personal computer to a stand-alone digital copying machine to make copies of disks and to print on the disks.
One problem with digital copying machines is there is a robotic arm having a stepper motor for picking up disks and placing them in disk drives, printer drives and stacks of finished disks. The stepper motors are noisy and set up vibrations which can hit resonant frequencies on the digital copying machine. The digital copying machines are frequently weighted in various locations to dampen the vibrations and noise but this adds weight to the digital copying machine.
Another need is for destroying and certifying the destruction of disks containing private information or copyrighted works. A digital copying machine should be capable of placing a serial number electronically on the disk for identification and a disk destruction system should be able to read the serial number and record the destruction.